The island of Taiwan 90 miles off the east coast of mainland China has been directly hit by a major earthquake measuring Magnitude 6.1. The ENTIRE Island was hit by the shaking. Many buildings are reported to have collapsed. Many people are reported trapped under debris. This is a major disaster in a major, densely populated area.

UPDATE 9:30 AM EST --

The quake struck at an extremely shallow depth of only 7.8km (about 5 miles beneath surface) and was felt over the ENTIRE island of Taiwan.

According tot he US Geological Survey, the quake registered as a "7" on the Mercali Modified Shake-Scale, meaning the "perceived shaking" was "very strong."